Eponine's New Life
by AHeartFullOfFeels
Summary: Modern AU & University/College AU Eponine leaves behind her old struggles to get a fresh start. With some old reunions and new friends, drama and heartbreak are everywhere it seems. But with them, she knows she can make it, and make life what she wants it to be. Rated T for possible things to come. Will also be Romance and heavy to subtle shipping.
1. Cutting Off and Adding On

Eponine was happy. Or at least, she would be soon.  
Leaving her family's "home" to go to college would be better than staying.  
She looked at her suitcase, then back to the acceptance letter in her hand.  
_Thanks to good grades and hard work these last few years, I could get a scholarship. Had I not, I wouldn't be able to go. Even if Dad HAD the money to send me, he wouldn't, sending me for jobs and spending the money on beer._  
She glared at the wall to the next room where her father was drinking.  
Suddenly, a head popped in.  
"Azelma, you don't need to be so hesitant, it's your room as well."  
"I don't want you to leave..."  
Azelma walked in and sat on her bed, looking at the ground sadly.  
"I know, but I'll be happier at college. Perhaps I could finally make a friend, and no parents... You are strong enough and obedient enough to live by yourself with them for a while, I know you'll be fine."  
Azelma nodded, then looked up and smiled.  
"Then its time for you to go off to your new life."  
"You don't mind that I won't keep contact?"  
"I'm a little sad about it, but I understand. I think I would do the same. If I never see you again, thank you for being my big sister. I'll miss you."  
"Goodbye."  
Eponine picked up her suitcase and duffel bag, then walked out of the room.  
She nodded to her parents, she ignored the way her mother tried to reach for her.  
She walked out of the small apartment, closing the door behind her.  
She paused after the door clicked shut, looking down.  
She closed her eyes, then opened them in a determined look.  
_It's better this way. They aren't the same loving parents I once grew up with._  
Then she continued on, starting her journey for a new life.

Settled comfortably in her new room, she started unpacking her clothes. Mostly old T-shirts and ratty jeans, an old sweater or two.  
She grimaced, sighing.  
_Why should it matter if people judge me because of what I wear? ...It can't be helped._  
"Money. How do I get money... Perhaps there are jobs nearby, I could fit a part-time job in with my studies... There is that activity fair going on... If anything, I guess I could use a friend or two, perhaps a club, though I doubt I could do that..."  
Eponine made up her mind, shutting her suitcase and going to the door.  
When she reached the activity fair, she looked around in wonder at all of the people of different variety.  
_Maybe there's __**someone**__ I can fit in with here?_  
She looked around, unsure of what exactly she was looking for.

She must have looked lost, because an older boy came over.  
His grin was bright and his curls falling into his face, greeting her.  
"Hello, I'm Courfeyrac. Freshman?"  
"Yeah... I'm Eponine."  
"You look lost, is there anything you need help with? Looking for something?"  
"No, I'm just- I..I don't really know..."  
Courfeyrac looked her up and down, noticing her clothes and her downcast eyes.  
"Looking for a friend?"  
She looked up at him, blinking in surprise.  
"If you want, I can introduce you to my friends, then you won't be lonely at all. And if you're embarrassed about finances, then don't worry. Les Amis come from all sorts of backgrounds. We have rich kids to poor orphans. Hell, we even have kid in the group. Only 10 years old!"  
She thought to herself about it, then silently nodded. Courfeyrac grinned, holding his hand out in a bow. She confusedly and hesitantly took his hand, and he lead her away, to a cafe right outside of the campus. The sign read 'Musain'.  
Courfeyrac lead her to a room upstairs, where a group of boys were talking.  
"Hey guys, I caught us a freshie."  
All eyes turned to her, greetings thrown at her. She nodded at them and gave a small "hello".  
"Amis, this is Eponine. Eponine, this is the Amis."  
He started naming each one, and what they were famous for, such as "Enjolras, the leader", "Bossuet, the unluckiest man alive", or "Bahorel, the brawler".  
"And this is Gavroche, the kid I was talking about. He's an orphan, I took him in a few years ago."

Eponine could barely hear what Courfeyrac said as her gaze met big blue eyes, a recognizing glare surrounded by dirty blonde hair.  
"Gavroche..."  
"Eponine." Gavroche said simply, looking away from her.  
"Gavroche, please forgive me..."  
The other Amis started confusedly as Gavroche looked back at her, a memory appearing.

_The rain splattered against the windows as Thenardier drove along a seemingly endless highway.  
Gavroche sat in Eponine's lap, staring out the window.  
Suddenly, the car slowed to a stop. Eponine was confused as her father got out of the car and opened her door. He picked Gavroche up, and shoved him down when he struggled.  
Gavroche cried as he hit the cold, wet dirt. Thenardier shouted at him to shut up, closing the car door. _  
_"I'm tired of having to keep spending precious money on a useless brat like him!"_  
_Eponine reached for the door handle to let him back in, but her father shouted at her too.  
She wept as her father got back into the car and started the engine.  
Gavroche pounded on the window, tears streaming down his rain-soaked face. The car took off, knocking him down and leaving him behind.  
He was so alone in the cold, dark, and wet night.  
Eponine was sobbing, Azelma was silently horrified, and her mother, HIS mother, didn't give any sign that she cared about her son being left to die.  
Eponine looked back to see Gavroche crying out, falling, not getting up.  
She simply cried._

"You sat there and watched it happen." Gavroche said, ignoring the tears stinging his eyes.  
"I wanted to help, I did! I couldn't, and I hated myself, hated him, for letting it happen..."  
"What's going on? You know each other?" Courfeyrac interrupted.  
"He's my brother... My father is a cruel man, who is selfish and greedy, and my parents hated him." Eponine started explaining.  
"Wait, I thought he was an orphan?" Courfeyrac confusedly stated.  
"I might as well be!" Gavroche shouted angrily, wiping away a tear.  
"My father abandoned him on a highway when we were moving to a different city... I wasn't able to stop it, and no one else cared enough..." Eponine stated, looking sadly at Gavroche, who was avoiding her gaze. Eponine was now in front of Gavroche, lowering her voice a little.  
"Please Gavroche... I couldn't do anything. He would have easily stopped me, and he wouldn't leave me, it would've just ended with me getting beat. I looked after you for years, when no one else cared if you dropped dead. Does that count for nothing? I didn't forget you, I missed you often, wondering if you were still alive, hoping you were happy."

Gavroche looked at her with tears in his eyes, finally breaking. He sprang forward and hugged her tightly, sobbing into her shoulder.  
Eponine hugged him back, knowing that this was him releasing all the feelings about her and that time since it happened.  
Courfeyrac knelt down to Gavroche and rubbed his back soothingly, and after a minute, Gavroche stopped crying. He wiped his eyes, very red at all of his older friends seeing his outburst.

"You're so tough Gavroche, sometimes we forget how young and little you really are." Courfeyrac said to him, a small comforting smile on his face.  
"I'm not that little..." Gavroche said stubbornly, before turning back to Eponine.  
"Gavroche, do you forgive me?"  
"Of course... Besides, if that hadn't happened, I'd still be with Dad, and I wouldn't have met Courf and the Amis."  
Eponine smiled.  
"This is perfect. A new life, and I get my little brother back."  
"New life?" Courfeyrac asked her.  
"I was able to get a scholarship, so I can go to college and get away from my horrible family. I'll never have to go back there, and I can live my own life... without having to do the 'jobs' my father gave me..."  
Gavroche looked at her with worry.  
"What kind of 'jobs'?"  
"... You don't need to worry about that, Gavroche... It's over."  
He nodded, and that was the end of the drama. For the rest of the afternoon, she talked with all of the Amis, got to know them, and got advice on how to get money, even being offered help. When she left, she was in a whirlwind of feelings.  
_No one has ever treated me with that much kindness, let alone a whole group of people. They even invited me to join them again. They offered advice and help and were genuinely nice to me...  
They didn't care that I was poor, or that my family was the way it was, or if I was younger than them..._  
She went to sleep happy, deciding she would go back to the Friends of the ABC.


	2. New Friend, Old Foe

The following day, Eponine found herself in the upstairs room of the Cafe Musain once again. Gavroche seemed happier about her arrival than the previous day.  
"So, you live with Courfeyrac?" Eponine asked him.  
"Yup. He took me in... erm... I don't remember, but it was a long time ago." he responded.  
"I was a freshman in high school, so about 6 years ago." Courfeyrac said, coming into the conversation. "He wandered near our house and I asked where his parents were. He said they were gone. I invited him into the house, and we started a routine of him coming to my house every morning and afternoon. My mom started allowing him to spend the night, not liking the idea of him sleeping outside. He just sorta molded into the family. It was always just me and my mom, and I was glad to have a little brother and she was excited to have another kid to baby."  
Eponine smiled at the story, happy that her brother had gotten a home and love after such a horrible life.  
"It was great. Before I met Courf, it wasn't fun to live really. Other than you, no one loved me... I missed you though." Gavroche said.  
Eponine hugged Gavroche tightly.  
"I missed you too, little troublemaker."  
"Speaking of housing, did you decide to request a roommate?" Courfeyrac asked Eponine.  
"Yeah, I've already put the ad out there. Hopefully I'll get one before classes start. Then it'll be easier to pay rent... plus, I could always use another friend."

* * *

A few days later, Eponine was awaiting her new roommate's arrival. She had never felt more excited and nervous. She had to stop herself from foot-tapping or pacing several times.  
The door opened, and her new roommate walked in. Eponine felt her heart sink to her stomach as she saw an old doll peeking from her bag and recognized her immediately. She bowed her head to hide her face as the other girl walked in.  
"Your bed is over there." She said simply as she went past her to the door. "I'm going out."  
She shut the door behind her quickly, ignoring any protest from the other girl. She ran down the hallway and out of the building, sitting on the grass and putting her head in her hands.  
"Of all the people... Why Cosette?"  
She stared at the grass, thinking.  
"There's no doubting it was her... It's even the same damn doll... What do I do now?"

* * *

**A/N: I know it's short, but I wanted to write a little but didn't have much inspiration so I just kinda forced this out... Sorry.**


	3. Old Foe, New Friend

For the rest of the week, Eponine only stepped foot in her room to sleep or change, avoiding Cosette as best as she could. She could feel shame at her past actions at every waking moment, knowing she couldn't let Cosette know it was her. Cosette had tried many times to talk to her, but was usually met with short answers or was ignored.  
Eponine planned to talk Courfeyrac into letting her stay with him for the weekend, or perhaps one of the other Amis. She was about to leave, when Cosette stood in front of the door.  
"'Scuse me." Eponine said, trying to get past her.  
"No, you aren't leaving. Not until you listen to me and give me answers."  
Eponine felt her heart drop to her feet as she sat down on the small couch in the middle of the room. She stared at the ground, trying to keep her face hidden behind her hair.  
"You have been avoiding me the whole week, and I don't even know your name! When I accepted your request, I was hoping for a friend, because I haven't had anyone to talk to or ask for help or anything this whole time... Why are you avoiding me?" Cosette explained.  
"...You don't recognize me?"  
"Should I? Who are you?"  
"Eponine..." she said quietly, hoping she wasn't heard.  
"Eponine? Eponine Thenardier?" Cosette said incredulously.  
"So what? You hate me? Want to brag about how your life is so great now while mine sucked?" Eponine asked, looking her in the eye for the first time.  
Cosette didn't say anything for a minute, just staring at Eponine, while the latter stared at the floor in shame.  
"No... I never hated you..." Eponine looked up at her in shock as Cosette continued. "You made me miserable all the time but I never hated you. I always wanted to be your friend."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah... Can... Can we be friends?" Cosette asked, shy now that she had said everything already.  
Eponine lost it at the moment she said that. She broke down crying, putting her head in her hands.  
"I'm so sorry for everything I did then. I was such a little bitch, and I lead Azelma into bullying you too and I am so sorry!" she sobbed.  
Cosette sat beside her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
"It's okay. I forgive you... We were just children and your mother taught you to be mean to me, you didn't know any better."  
"Thank you..." Eponine said, trying to dry her eyes and compose herself. "You know... Gavroche is here."  
"Really?" Cosette said happily, "where?"  
"He.. Well, he lives with a friend of mine."  
"Why? If you don't mind sharing."  
"My dad abandoned him on the highway soon after you left... Courfeyrac found him and took him in, basically raising him." Eponine explained.  
Cosette gave a small gasp, her eyes turning teary.  
"I knew your father was horrible, but not that horrible!"  
"I know... I started hating my family after that, they treated me like you were treated. I realized how much of a bitch and a bully I was, and I started becoming glad you got another chance after your mom died... I started studying and doing my best in school so that I could get a scholarship, so I could go to college and get another chance at life, like you and Gavroche. I'm not going back there, ever. Hell, I'm even thinking of getting my last name changed so I don't have to wear that disgusting name." Eponine said.  
"I think that's good. I like this new Eponine, you know."  
Eponine smiled and said "Yes."  
"What?"  
"Yes. I'll be your friend. You know, I don't have any girl friends, just Courf and his friends. They are nice people, well... Some may not always act like it, but they really are. And it doesn't hurt that they are all pretty cute. In their own ways. They are all completely different, it's amazing that all get along so well most of the time. I can take you to meet them, I think you could get along with them. They might be a little all over you though. God knows they need girlfriends." Eponine laughed out the last part.  
Cosette giggled.  
"I can't wait to meet them."


End file.
